This is a zine dedicated to black metal written by a follower of the left hand path, This zine has been around in a different format for a while and I have decided to make an edition for www.blogger.com, for more information email occultblackmetalzine@yahoo.com, new albums as well as classic albums will be reviewed on here as long as their good quality black metal,

Monday, June 19, 2017

Blackest Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?We've been around since June of 2012 writing and recording all of the album's material.

2.Recently you have released your first full length, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?I'd say it's very big sounding. The idea behind the mix was to give the listener all of the sound that was recorded in as raw of a form as possible with as much of that sound coming out of the speaker without any peaking or distortion. We want to immerse the listener with this album.

3.The band has been around since 2012 and except for a couple of singles and a contribution to a split you waited until 2017 to release a full length, can you tell us a little bit more about the first 5 years?We did not wait 5 years on purpose. The reason we didn't put it out sooner is because this album from start to finish took 5 years to make. I wanted to get everything just right with this album and I had a lot of things I wanted to do with this album. A lot of the work was "off and on" kinda stuff but to put together an album of this scale it took a lot of time and considerations. Especially when you have little to no money to put into it. We could have said screw it and "half-assed" it but I wanted to put out something that 5 or 10 years down the road I could still look back on and be proud of.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?Lyrics are kinda hard for me to write. The first thing I usually think is, "What can I say that hasn't already been said?" But a lot of the time if I can get an idea I can write around that idea. There are not a whole lot of tracks on this album and a couple are instrumental so I didn't need a whole lot of ideas this time around. Obviously a lot of the lyrics have a very dark tone to them and for this album in particular they seem to be a bit vague.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Blackest'?I wanted the darkest name for the darkest kind of music I could write. It seemed fitting.

6.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you planning on expanding the line up in the future or do you chose to remain a duo?I'd like to expand the band but only if I can find people that would be a good fit for the band. I'd like for them to kind of have the same ideas and mind set for the band, but I'd also be happy with anyone who can handle playing the material well.

7.I have noticed the one band member goes by the name 'Seidr', does Norse Paganism play a role in the music?Well at this point I don't think it has but I'd like to think there is a lot of room to grow lyrically with the band so it could very well play a part in our future endeavors.

8.The album was released by 'Blood And Brutality Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?It's a label that I started about 10 years ago or so. I pretty much put out everything on the label myself. I've got a number of bands on that label but I also play in some bands that are not on that label. My most recent band I'm in that isn't on the label is Seid in which the vocalist of Blackest also does vocals. We, as Seid, have put an album out called "Darkness Shall Fall".

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?Well we're still growing considering we just put out this first album but so far with what little exposure we've had at this point, everything seems to be very positive.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?Well we definitely still have plenty of ideas and plan on future albums. I like to try to grow musically a little without changing too much of our sound. I'd like to be able to offer new sounds and ideas mingled with what we've done with this first album.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?I like to try not to let any of my music influences affect how or what I write. As crazy as that may sound. I know it's impossible for other bands or music to not influence what we do but there isn't a band that I know of that influenced the idea of Blackest. I like a lot of the older bands that have been around for a while and I listen to all kinds of stuff. But bands like Death, Slayer, Pantera, Immortal, Emperor, and Morbid Angel are probably what I like the best and listen to the most.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?I would like to that you for the interview and the interest in Blackest and I like to extend my appreciation to anyone who happens to read this interview or listen to the album. Thanks to all.